Hoochielicious! Putting our loved ones back in frock

Sun, 08/10/2008 10:26 AM  |  Lifestyle

Beauty pageants may not be news to you, whether for adults or little girls.

Traditional beauty pageants are competitive and end in rejection for the majority of the entrants. Success often depends upon a woman's ability to handle the pageant's challenges with maturity.

Judging categories include an interview, formal wear and health. Emphasis is also placed on the contestant's community involvement and lifestyle choices -- her career, family and education. And sometimes the focus is just simply how sparkly and glittery is this cute and innocent little girl -- this week's topic.

Growing up I had a few experiences with this sort of competition. I did compete for Cover Boy and in modeling contests but never ended up in the industry.

Competing is trickier than you think. And I was 16 when I tried out, but today's modeling contests and pageants are geared for even younger children!

Don't kids today seem luckier than us when we were that age?

They have their own mobile phones while most of us got our first one in our late teens. They enjoy playgrounds at prestigious malls with high-end facilities while we were happy to play outdoors with traditional toys.

And they wear what we adults would wear if we were forced to join a tacky cabaret dancing competition. That's right; I'm talking about today's fashion-tragic children.

As a child from the seventies, I strongly believe children should be allowed to be children, no added preservatives nor extra premature spices.

Children are supposed to be innocent and treated gently as they grow and learn. Which is why I am shocked by fashion lines for children which offer designs that should be worn by adults! Glamorous evening gowns, lacy stockings, bold accessories and even high heels are now available for children!

Forget cute Cinderella or Snow White costumes. These new designs are over the top and turn our young daughters into sex symbols!

Perhaps children are more experimental than me and my pals were at that age, but it seems these trendy-minded kids can't wait to wear mommy's seductive puffy satin dresses and acrylic-heeled strappy shoes!

And would you believe it, children's clothing shops at ITC and malls sell an average of 10 such items per day!

Seeing my eyes pop out and my jaw drop, the sales girl who I asked about this giggled at my archaic fashion sense.

"What's wrong? Aren't these cute for little girls?" she asked.

Cute? Rrrr... Maybe I'm more concerned those acrylic high heels will cause young girls to prematurely develop varicose veins. I don't know about you, but i wouldn't even let my cat have the latest nail polish treatment for pets offered at her salon. It's just wrong, what's innoncent-cute shouldn't be driven to ironic-cute. You don't want your daughter to end up like Britney Spears, do you?

I wouldn't ban all modeling and beauty competitions for children, but they should dress in clothing appropriate for children and wear minimal make-up.

I don't blame modeling competitions 100 percent for this fashion tragic, kids should have an early start in modeling experiences -- but in their own natural look.

It's time to shake up the organizers of these competitons -- they need new rules. Participants shouldn't be allowed to dress like the late JonBennet Ramsey or try to be little miss Joan Collins. Stop the demand and maybe children's fashion lines will stop producing "mini pretty women" outfits.

In many parts of the world, these "fashion forward" children's lines have become a hot topic of discussion and argument. Even House of Der*on from Beyonce Knowles and her mother Tina were trashed and called "House of Diarrhea" after they produced a line of "daring" children's wear and advertised it with pictures of seven- and eight-year-old girls seemingly playing dress up, wearing what looks like their mother's five-inch high heels, in lipstick and in slightly disturbing, overtly mature poses. The public called the poor little girls "hoochielicious". I definitely won't put my kids -- if I ever have any, fat chance! -- into that category no matter what.

So, for all you parents out there, you know that hit song from Fergie called "Fergalicious"? I modified it a little, but let's hold hands and sing it together: It's hoochielicious, it's Not Not! It's babylicious put our girls back in frock, frock It's girliecious dress them in what they're suppose to get It's cutielicious S-s-s-s-s sweet, sweetie

--Diaz

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